Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic stimulus type urinary incontinence treatment apparatus for magnetically treating a patient for urinary incontinence by supplying pulse current and thereby generating flux for generating eddy current in a physiological body.
As a urinary incontinence treatment, an electrical stimulus treatment for stress incontinence, urge incontinence and the like by fitting a stimulus electrode to a physiological body and supplying electrical pulses thereto has been well known in addition to a medical treatment and the like. In case of the electrical stimulus treatment, a plug-shaped electrode having a diameter of 2 cm and a length of 4 cm for a vagina or double enveloping electrode having the same dimensions for an anus connected to a pulse wave generator is inserted into the vagina or anus, and pulse current of a repeated frequency of several Hz to several tens Hz, a peak current of 1 to 100 mA and a pulse width of 100 .mu.s to 1 ms is applied directly from the body surface. By so doing, pelvic floor muscle is stimulated and trained by the pulse current applied from the body surface and the weaken muscle is reinforced to thereby strengthen the force for tightening a urethra. Thus, it is effective in the treatment for stress incontinence.
As for urge incontinence caused by the involuntary contraction of a urinary bladder, pudendal nerves or their branches formed from the second to fourth sacral nerves of lunbosacral plexus are stimulated to thereby reflexively prevent the involuntary contraction of the urinary bladder, whereby urinary incontinence can be prevented.
However, the above-stated electrical stimulus treatment using a plug-type electrode requires inserting the electrode into the vagina or anus every time the treatment is conducted. Due to this, there occur problems such as a patient refuses treatment or refuses to continue treatment. Furthermore, if stimulus current is increased so as to obtain a prompt effect in a short period time, there is a possibility that this gives rise to a pain or, what is worse, a burn.
In these circumstances, the present applicant proposed a urinary incontinence treatment apparatus wherein a magnetic stimulus coil for generating repeated pulse-like flux provided at a coil installation tool installed in a room are fitted to regions from the patient's waist to crural region and the flux applied into the body allows eddy current to stimulate pelvic floor muscle, pudendal nerves and the like, as disclosed in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08,800,709.
This has made it possible to realize a urinary incontinence treatment apparatus capable of treating a patient for a disease without giving pain to the patient in a non-invasion manner while the patient has his or her clothes on. Meanwhile, in such a treatment, it is necessary to give consideration to electrical power efficiency and, in some cases, to provide a forced cooling system for forcedly cooling a magnetic stimulus coil to supply high current to the coil. Moreover, it is preferable that regions such as a womb, an ovary, a urinary bladder, testicles, which are not directly relevant to the treatment are not stimulated.